Infosys revenue and profit rise ahead of CEO change

Indian outsourcer Infosys said its revenue and profit grew in the second quarter as the company won some large deals in the period.

Infosys said its revenue for the quarter grew 7 percent year on year, to US$2.13 billion. Net profit grew 15 percent to $482 million, according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The company has forecast revenue growth of between 7 to 9 percent for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2015.

Some of the deals bagged were renewals but others were also new business, CEO S. D. Shibulal told analysts on Friday. "There is demand in the industry for good talent, and we have the talent," he said.

The company said customers' discretionary spending had improved.

Infosys, which had been lagging behind Indian peers such as Tata Consultancy Services, will have a new CEO on Aug. 1, when SAP's former technology chief Vishal Sikka will take over from Shibulal.

Analysts expect Sikka to transition the company from its dependence on contracts priced around the number of workers deployed on a job to a business based more on products and technologies that can be used to address the requirements of a number of customers. Infosys has attempted the move to "non-linear growth" in revenue for some years.

One challenge Infosys faces is to stem the departure of senior managers.

Staff attrition soared to 19.5 percent in the year to June 30, from 16.9 percent a year earlier. Employee attrition rates are worrisome and the company is taking various measures to retain good talent, COO U.B. Pravin Rao said.

The company added 879 staff in the quarter, taking the total staff at the end of the quarter to 161,284.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

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